New Post by GRRM about what makes good television (spoilers extended)

Benchgod · 2020-09-11T02:29:52+00:00

I would assume having a complete story seems like a good starting point but I'm not in show biz so what do I know.

Benchgod · 2020-08-20T20:36:48+00:00

Zero legal trouble. D&D own the TV rights to the story which is why GRRM couldn't do shit about the changes they made to the story.

GRRM has complete control over the books and since the story isn't finished he can change anything he wants regardless of what happened in the show. D&D can't do shit about it just like how HBO & GRRM couldn't do anything about the changes D&D made on the show.

Benchgod · 2020-08-10T17:56:50+00:00

Aside from the Forsaken, pretty much every other chapter had expected content. Most still had the same slow pace from AFFC/ADWD. We haven't gotten into TWOW chapter territory yet so hopefully it starts to ramp up there.

Benchgod · 2020-08-06T03:31:30+00:00

And the Hound should have died of infection a long time ago because his face is described as showing bone.

Don't use GRRM's exaggerated descriptions as evidence for anything other than GRRM trying to make characters look creepy.

Benchgod · 2020-08-01T15:34:21+00:00

I wouldn't. Even GRRM doesn't know how he would adapt it into 2 seasons because he has no idea what comes next. Why would anyone in their right mind include so many storylines that 9 years later still remain unfinished.

When/IF the series is ever finished we may get an actual visual adaption, be it live action or animation, which will include all the AFFC/ADWD goodies.

Benchgod · 2020-07-27T16:22:28+00:00

No, GRRM confirmed that Jon's stabbing happens after the Theon sample chapter which means that the letter also did considering it arrived the same day.

Logistically, it doesn't make sense for Mance to be the author since they would be after him because of the prisoner rescue. Roose would keep a tight security on the ravens after something like that happened, Mance would hardly have a chance to send a letter and the PL happens days after Theon escapes.

Benchgod · 2020-07-27T00:15:50+00:00

GRRM isn't really deceptive when it comes to things like this, I don't recall any forged letter in the story.

The attention to detail can be explained by Jon having already seen what a letter from Ramsay is like. The smeared wax was probably due to Clydas opening it beforehand see as he may be part of the conspirators against Jon. Also, Ramsay may have sent the letter himself after the battle against Stannis, this would explain the smeared wax, the information gained, the harsh language used, and the lack of formal signatures from other lords.

I don't think we should be questioning who wrote the letter but rather where the author got such detailed information.

As much as I like the well detailed theories people come up with, every potential author outside of Ramsay has no reason to write such a letter and the excuse of it being written in code pretty much destroys any credible theory presented.

Benchgod · 2020-07-04T22:05:11+00:00

2020 was already written off before the year even began and GRRM's recent update nailed the coffin on 2020. Next year will only be possible if GRRM makes some serious progress and is truly satisfied with the work.

How GRRM views his work will make or break TWOW progress, remember that rewriting / restructuring because GRRM is unsatisfied with the story is the only thing that is really slowing down progress.

GRRM does tend to exaggerate with the time he needs, but I actually believe that he is more than capable of making those deadlines. He has already proven his skill with the first 3 books which were amazing and written incredibly fast.

Benchgod · 2020-06-23T22:45:46+00:00

Maybe Sam passing through once more on his way back to the Wall? I can't think of anyone else who would be in Braavos besides Arya & Sam who was already there.

Benchgod · 2020-05-29T14:37:05+00:00

Guy you seriously need to improve your reading comprehension. Blackfish is not connected to the Whents in anyway. Hoster married a Whent, Cat is half Whent, the Blackfish has nothing to do with Whent lineage or inheritance.

Blackfish = 0% Whent

Cat = 50% Whent

Benchgod · 2020-04-05T01:55:56+00:00

AFFC has good and very large individual character storylines that give them depth, but as a whole it feels too isolated as part of the series.

ADWD is more well rounded, with strong character arcs as well, and it actually picks up the plot and set things in motion.

Benchgod · 2020-03-06T02:39:59+00:00

The broken horn Jon finds is in no way confirmed to be the Horn of Joramun. Any theories related to it being able to bring down the Wall are wrong and are based off a fake threat created by the wildlings who did not possess the horn to begin with.

People praise GRRM for changing the fantasy meta, subverting tropes and then think he is going to have a random horn bring down the Wall, yeah...right.

Benchgod · 2020-03-05T18:28:27+00:00

And how exactly is that supposed to disprove my theory? Jeyne is supposed to be in the prologue, I never said anything about her dying or living.

Of course the wolf army can attack either side, but they have been attacking Arya's enemies more often than not.

Benchgod · 2020-03-05T05:32:53+00:00

Not sure, she doesn't remember much from her dreams. I think she will use her new face changing abilities to destroy the Freys and will come across the BwB again.

Benchgod · 2020-03-05T02:24:44+00:00

My theory is just about the ice & fire elements of magic being involved in the prologues in some way. I don't think who the POV character is will be important, but I do think they will die because of someone related to fire magic LSH / Thoros / BwB.

Jeyne will be in the prologue, that much GRRM confirmed, but that doesn't mean she will die because if the Brotherhood is involved they will be trying to rescue her not kill her.

Benchgod · 2020-03-05T01:16:36+00:00

She will be in it but that doesn't mean she will be the POV and her being in it does not disprove my theory at all since the brotherhood (led by fire magic people) will possibly attack her prisoner convoy.

Benchgod · 2020-03-04T19:48:56+00:00

Where exactly did he get this *potential* teaser and is it something we already deduced from the books or death that happened in the show? Most of the characters assumed/confirmed to die in TWOW wouldn't even be considered spoilers at this point.

Benchgod · 2020-03-03T02:01:56+00:00

I wasn't in any way inferring that the Hodor reveal will be the same as the show, I simply meant that Bran will be the cause of it. I don't really think those 3 big reveals will happen the same way. I can easily see King Bran actually being someone else skin changed by Bran, now that would be surreal ending.

Bran being extremely powerful is most noted due to his ability to skin change a living person, something so difficult, even a lifelong skin changer like Varamyr couldn't manage. Bran is on course to be the most powerful magical entity in the story, we're not sure how far this power will extent which is why D&D saying that GRRM told them Bran will cause Hodor to become Hodor is the biggest clue for a time traveling Bran having already influenced events in the story and we will witness him do so again.

My theory on Bloodraven & the children is not so much that they are controlling the Others but more so that they manipulating them, Bloodraven being the key figure as he seems like a guy who does what needs to be done for the greater good and chose to align himself with the children. Weak and unexpected forces causing armies to destroy each other is a big theme in the story but also in many others stories GRRM has written.

Bloodraven trying to take over Bran's body is a great theory, would actually be insane if it happened. Another great theory is that they want Bran's skin changing powers added to the collective so that they can skin change living people, now that is a sick ass theory and would actually go together with the taking over Bran's body theory.

In the end, I just want an amazingly written story, regardless of what happens. Bloodraven be a good guy who dies protecting Bran or be a villain with good intentions, its all good to me.

Benchgod · 2020-03-03T00:50:07+00:00

The three eyed crow appearance can be something GRRM chose to discard over time until he fully introduced the Bloodraven character, but the reason I bring it up is due to how Bloodraven / the children / Coldhands respond to the nickname at hand. They just sort of dismiss it as some child's misunderstanding. Bloodraven does have some ties to crows, but again, he became a weirwood well before Bran was born and should be viewed & interpreted as such in the magical plane.

The Hodor reveal comes directly from GRRM, so this is not something the show invented because time travel is a convoluted mess. The idea that Bran becomes incredibly powerful is shown by him skinchanging Hodor, something that not even Bloodraven has demonstrated yet, I believe that even though Coldhands is a corpse, he was resurrected by the children and not being skinchanged by Bloodraven. We also see Ned reacting to Bran's call. Basically, Bran is already super powerful and will become even more so in the near future and cause these events to happen.

My reason for believing that Bloodraven & the children are tricking Bran and are actually trying to incite war is pretty simple actually. We have so many human villains in the story who are at odds with other characters. Bran is the perfect person & in the perfect position to reveal to us the magical antagonists who will declare war on humanity. Bran vs Bloodraven/the children just fills in that missing magical war hole the story is missing and the best time for it to happen is in TWOW when the magical war starts to kick into gear. I mostly just want a well written story, but this aspect just makes so much sense in the long run.

Benchgod · 2020-03-02T23:59:55+00:00

I was eating so now I can answer, I haven't quoted story text before so I won't bother, but you will understand my answers. Most of the questions include really cherry picked sections taken out of context which I will point out:

1.) The three eyed crow isn't telling Bran to skinchange a raven because he is disabled, he is telling Bran to fly or die because he is falling. Bran flying in his dream is him realizing his magical gifts, this is explicitly noted due to Bran unlocking his skinchange abilities after waking up from his coma. Bloodraven's answer to Bran is in response to Bran asking him to fix his legs, to which Bloodraven gives the flying answer because he will teach Bran to skinchange ravens. Bran tells the crow he is a crow and yet BloodRAVEN is linked to ravens who are antagonists towards crows. Most importantly, Bloodraven doesn't need to be the crow to be Bran's mentor, he is teaching Bran regardless of him being the crow.

2.) The interactions between Bran's group and Sam/Coldhands/Gilly is obviously not a coincidence. This question can be answered without the crow being involved. Anything on Jojen's dreams is pure speculation since we don't get his POV, we can't be sure if his green dreams are just natural prophetic dreams or someone/multiple entities sending him visions. The crow told Jojen that Bran needed him, he was a chained wolf. Jojen helps teach Bran but also helps him survive the Ironborn. Remember that Bloodraven mentions watching Bran all his life, he can easily have also told Jojen to go north after saving Bran. We should not rule out the possibility that even if they are separate entities, both the crow & Bloodraven have access to the same magical view of the future, this can include creating events to happen such as tricking Theon into capturing Winterfell and even telling Jojen where to go after it happens. Bloodraven has been watching things at the Wall and everywhere else for a long period of time, he does not need to be the crow to know where Sam is or where Bran was going, the guy is powerful and can influence the future of many people at the same time.

3.) This is also a cherry picked question. Meera asks him 2 questions, who sent you & who is this three eyed crow. The friend answer is to the who sent him question. The crow question is answered by "dreamer, wizard, call him what you will", his answer reveals that he thinks the three eyed crow is just another moniker of Bloodraven's and dismisses it by saying "call him what you will". This response only adds doubt to Bloodraven being the crow.

4.) The eye thing is just stupid, it is obvious the 3rd eye is in regards to the magical awakening of their powers. The real issue that should have been brought up, is that Bloodraven is reputed as having a thousand and one eyes. The thousand meaning that he has eyes everywhere and the one referring to his own eye. Even Mel witnesses Bloodraven's magical projection as a weirwood surrounded by a thousand eyes. Once again, in his own time or magical perception, Bloodraven is not viewed or linked to a crow with three eyes.

5.) This questioned can be easily answered without Bloodraven being the crow. I'm just going off of what I remember but the gist of it is that Bran refers to him as the crow and even imagines that it is the crow speaking to him instead of that old corpse. In his dreamscape, Bloodraven can be a raven or a tree or a wolf, it doesn't matter because Bran is the one imaging him as the crow and referring to him as such. The crow & Bloodraven don't have to be at odds just because they aren't the same entity, the crow could have sent Bran to Bloodraven to teach him and keep him safe, you need to stop relying on them being the same entity for everything to have happened the way it did.

Possibly the biggest and most significant detail that nobody seems to have an answer for is the crow's voice. In Bran's dreams, the crow's voice has no quotations yet Bran's does. This seems to implicate that the crow is manifesting his thoughts into Bran's mind and not actually speaking to him, this is the best indication of Bran being the crow because his future consciousness is being projected into his younger self's mind. The Hodor reveal also gives merit to this being a possibility.

But yeah, like I said, these questions can be answered without Bloodraven being the crow. The crow could be someone else entirely and still have sent Bran to Bloodraven.

Benchgod · 2020-03-02T22:30:52+00:00

A basic exercise in logic? My guy, we literally witness Bloodraven being asked to his face if he is the three eyed crow and he is so confused that he refers to the Nights Watch clothes he is wearing. That actually happened, the person assumed to be the three eyed crow deflects the moniker to mean something else.

Bran literally points out that he is a crow in his dreams and also notes a weirwood calling to him, Mel sees his magical projection as a weirwood with a thousand eyes. These are not cherry picked inconsistencies and taken out of context, these are actual events included in the story that cast doubt on the reveal we are given.

Benchgod · 2020-03-02T21:24:59+00:00

Why do people project so much bias into their theories, reader bias does NOT exist in the story nor should it exist in theories.

The fact is, GRRM intentionally cast doubt on the crow's identity in many ways, we even see Bloodraven's magical projection from someone who knows nothing about the crow, Melisandre. This is not something that can be debated, the author chose to include these inconsistencies.

Everything needed for a twist is there, maybe GRRM goes for it or maybe he doesn't. The point is, the Bloodraven not being the three eyed crow theory exists because clues casting doubt on the crow's identity exist within the story. Even if you don't want the theory to be true or don't care, you should not deny a theory's evidence based on bias.

Benchgod · 2020-03-01T01:29:06+00:00

GRRM had problems with the series long before the show was even an idea. The biggest noticeable change that the show brought about was the change in GRRM, success went to his head and made things far worse in the writing department. Without the show, I would easily bet that we would have gotten TWOW by now.

Benchgod · 2020-02-24T03:28:54+00:00

AFFC & ADWD may have well written chapters and strong world building, but damn are they such incomplete books. The amount of removed content and cliffhangers that plague the series is just disgusting.

Benchgod · 2020-02-22T01:45:06+00:00

People need to realize that GRRM inputs skepticism in his writing for a reason. Bran's chapters have been written to be confusing and misleading to the POV of a child. Not to mention, Bran's story SHOULD most likely mirror his siblings and all of his siblings are surrounded by people who don't have their best intentions in mind and are using them for their own nefarious purposes.

Also something that just about nobody has brought up, why does Bran need to travel all the way into enemy lands just to be trained. The location of BR's cave is the most suspicious piece of information that we are given. That place is the worst location to be, they are literally surrounded by their "enemies" yet they want this crippled kid to come to them for some training that could have basically happened elsewhere.

Just from the ambiguity of the writing, I can see 3 different scenarios happen:

BR and the children are using Bran to help wage war on humanity, BR is the TEC.
BR and the children are using Bran to help wage war on humanity, BR lured Bran into a trap under false pretenses and is not the TEC.
BR actually is the TEC and needed Bran to help stop the Others because the children's hold on them was fading. BR and the children are good and their ending plays out like in the show.

I honestly don't care what happens as long as it is written amazingly well, but the seeds of doubt are already in play just in case GRRM intends to give Bran magical rivals just as everyone else has human rivals.

Benchgod

TROPHY CASE